Grave situation at the cemetery

Commissioners Court this morning discussed possibly changing to a cremate-first policy at Harris County’s public cemetery.

A report from the cemetery director projects that the county’s 18.7-acre cemetery will be full some time next year, necessitating the purchase of a 25-acre plot for $7 million.

Switching to cremation instead of burial would save the county about $60,000 a year in operations. It would also give the county five to seven years before it would have to purchase more land for another cemetery, county budget officer Dick Raycraft told the Court.

Not all of the dead brought to the county for burial would be cremated. When the deceased is unknown or when the next of kin requests burial, the county would continue to bury the dead. Raycraft’s summary to the board states that Dallas, Denton, Collin and El Paso counties use a cremate-first policy.